Economic Stressors and Alcohol-Related Outcomes: Gender Differences in the Significance of Somatic Complaints

• In Event: 515 - Section on Sociology of Mental Health Paper Session. The Economy, Work, and Mental Health

Abstract

Objective: Motivated by the recent downturn in the U.S. economy, this study examined
the processes linking economic stressors, somatic complaints, and two alcohol-related
outcomes (past-month drinking and problematic drinking).

Method: Data were drawn from a mail survey of a national sample of 663 respondents.
Structural equation modeling was used to assess whether somatic complaints mediate the associations between economic stressors and the alcohol-related outcomes considered and whether these associations varied by gender.

Results: Controlling for correlations among the outcomes and the effects of the sociodemographic control variables, somatic complaints were found to partly explain the association between economic stressors and problematic drinking. The effects of both economic stressors and somatic complaints on problematic drinking were significantly greater for men than women. However, the effects of economic stressors on somatic complaints were greater for women.

Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the utility of considering interrelationships among alcohol-related outcomes and, in this context, reveal the circumstances in which gender matters most for understanding the associations among economy-related stressors, somatic complaints, and drinking.

Authors

• Robyn Lewis Brown, DePaul University

• Judith A. Richman, University of Illinois-Chicago

• Kathleen M. Rospenda, University of Illinois-Chicago